In the wake of back-to-back murders in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, state IT and Higher Education Minister Ashwathnarayan on Friday, July 29, made controversial remarks about dealing with the case. Speaking to the media, the minister said that a ‘clear message’ will be sent to the accused and suggested handling them through a fake encounter killing. “There is still outrage and people are demanding swift action. It is our responsibility to make sure that incidents like this do not occur again. We will make sure to take more measures to send a clear message that wherever they (the accused) might be, we will find them and kill them in a police encounter.”
Responding to a question regarding CM Basavaraj Bommai’s recent remarks about the ‘Yogi Adityanath’ model, Ashwathnarayan said, “We will go five steps ahead of Uttar Pradesh. We will give Uttar Pradesh a good model and do better than them. Karnataka is a modern state with more development, it is a model state that others will emulate.”
BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru was attacked by bike-borne assailants on July 27, and while he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he succumbed to injuries on the way. The attack occurred in Sullia taluk, days after a gang of eight people had attacked a man named Masood in Kalanja village on July 19.
The incident took a communal turn with Hindutva groups claiming that Praveen was targeted for revenge over Masood's death. Amid the calls for bandh, Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was imposed in Puttur taluk in Dakshina Kannada district on Wednesday and Thursday, July 27 and 28.
Another man named Mohammad Faizal was hacked to death near Surathkal in Dakshina Kannada on July 28. The attack on the 24-year-old was caught on CCTV. Reports say that suspects waited outside the shop Faizal was in for nearly 30 minutes before attacking him. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed on the way.
The police have clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in Surathkal, Mulki, Bajpe and Panambur until 6 am on Saturday, July 30. A holiday has been declared for educational institutions under the four police station limits, and liquor shops have been closed.